Probes Continuing Into Plant Explosion

4 Injured Workers Remain Hospitalized

Four men who were critically injured in an explosion at a Niles recycling company remained hospitalized Thursday, while emergency officials continued investigating the cause of the blast.

Meanwhile, Electronic Recovery Specialists launched its own investigation into the incident, according to Ronald L. Bell, the company's attorney. The Niles firm contacted an expert in explosives to determine how the blast, which ripped apart a corner of the 7800 N. Merrimac Ave. building, occurred Wednesday morning, Bell said.

A U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms official said Wednesday that a spark from a machine that was used to strip copper off the top of military shell casings was the likely source of the blast.

Bell, however, said something else must have factored into the explosion. Though the shells contain magnesium residue, there is not enough of it to cause such damage, Bell said.

"A lot of coincidences had to have occurred to cause this to happen," he said. "Machines don't blow up. There was no gas in the machine. . . . There had to be a third cause. There had to be a combination of something else. That's what we want to find out."

"This was an unexpected happenstance," he added. "It was not anticipated as even a risk."

The machine was built by the company and had been in use for about a week. Employees were still trying to perfect it, Bell said.

Seven workers were injured in the blast, four of whom suffered severe burns over 25 percent to 93 percent of their bodies. Raphael Flores, 40, and Gerald Briscoe, 41, were hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Enrique Anzo, 20, and Thomas Gilbert, 42, were being treated at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Gilbert is the brother of the company's president, Davis Gilbert.

The other three employees were treated and released at area hospitals Wednesday.

A U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer was at the scene Thursday, continuing the agency's probe. Rebecca Jones, assistant area director for OSHA's North Chicago office, said it could "take awhile" to determine if there were any safety violations.

"It is unclear what happened, and we have to make sure we are covering all the bases," she said. "We don't want to jump to a conclusion."

ATF, which was called in to assist Niles fire and police, pulled out of the probe Thursday after concluding the blast was not caused by foul play or illegal explosives, according to ATF spokesman Thomas Ahern.

The company, which recovers gold, silver, platinum and other metals from electronics and non-explosive demilitarized munitions, remained closed Thursday. A few employees reported to work around 8 a.m. but were told to go home, according to Bell.

Gilbert, the company president, could not be reached for comment Thursday. According to Bell, Gilbert was spending the day visiting the injured workers, including his brother.

"He is concerned with the people and not with the business at this point," Bell said.

It will probably be a week or two before the company is operational, said Bell, noting that the building's utilities had been shut off.